A study of the laws providing for the protection of sportspersons' rights in Malaysia

Abstract

The development of sports within the Malaysian sporting arena must be sustained in order to promote further growth and to achieve world-class status. In order to sustain the development in sports, there are various aspects that need to be taken into consideration besides introducing various mechanisms to improve the quality of performance of the athletes. At present the principal concern among the sporting community is that there are insufficient legal provisions providing for the protection of the rights of sportsperson. The Sports Development Act 1997 (Act 576) (referred as "SDA 1997") was passed in order to promote and facilitate the development and administration of sports in Malaysia.

Development of sporting activities is dependant very much on the sportspersons themselves and if the welfare of the sportspersons is not taken care of, it may stultify development of sports in Malaysia. Thus, this dissertation seek to examine the problems faced by the sportspersons and to propose the necessary changes to improve the existing system in order to deliver better protection for the sporting community.

The aims and objectives of this dissertation are to improve the existing legal measures promoting the protection of a sportspersons rights. Chapter one deals with the historical development of sports in Malaysia. Chapter two examines the contractual rights of a sportsperson and the shortcomings of the Malaysian system in providing the necessary protection for a sportsperson. Chapter three examines the extent of the tortious liability of a sports organisation in the event a sportsperson suffers injury in the course of representing the organisation in sporting events. Chapter Four examines the criminal liability of a sportsperson. Chapter Five examines the rights of a sportsperson guaranteed in the Federal Constitution. And chapter 6 is the concluding chapter where proposals for reforming the existing legislative measures are made.